William Blair Issues Positive Forecast for IQVIA Earnings

IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) – William Blair increased their Q1 2026 earnings estimates for shares of IQVIA in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, October 28th. William Blair analyst M. Smock now forecasts that the medical research company will earn $2.75 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $2.73. William Blair currently has a “Outperform” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for IQVIA’s current full-year earnings is $10.84 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for IQVIA’s Q4 2026 earnings at $3.34 EPS.

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The medical research company reported $3.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.07 billion. IQVIA had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 30.70%. The business’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.84 EPS. IQVIA has set its FY 2025 guidance at 11.850-11.950 EPS.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 price objective (up previously from $235.00) on shares of IQVIA in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of IQVIA in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of IQVIA from $177.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays upped their target price on shares of IQVIA from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of IQVIA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $241.41.

IQVIA Price Performance

IQV stock opened at $216.43 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.86 billion, a PE ratio of 29.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.32. The company’s 50-day moving average is $197.12 and its 200-day moving average is $173.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.84. IQVIA has a 1 year low of $134.65 and a 1 year high of $225.91.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IQVIA

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in shares of IQVIA by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 4,594,831 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $810,069,000 after purchasing an additional 312,807 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in shares of IQVIA by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,555,929 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $560,379,000 after purchasing an additional 19,573 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of IQVIA during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $515,772,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of IQVIA by 22.8% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,126,171 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $492,659,000 after purchasing an additional 581,157 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of IQVIA by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,314,219 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $421,257,000 after purchasing an additional 253,759 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.62% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other IQVIA news, insider Eric Sherbet sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.70, for a total value of $878,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 27,108 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,955,627.60. This trade represents a 12.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

About IQVIA

IQVIA Holdings Inc engages in the provision of advanced analytics, technology solutions, and clinical research services to the life sciences industry in the Americas, Europe, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. It operates through three segments: Technology & Analytics Solutions, Research & Development Solutions, and Contract Sales & Medical Solutions.